The worst-kept secret about the Yankees right now is that they’re hurting for some offensive fireworks. With Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Trent Grisham, and Ryan McMahon all on the IL right now, over a third of the starting lineup is missing and the consequences can be felt in their five-game losing streak. They’ve been on no-hit alert in back-to-back nights now, and in general the lineup has failed to get much of anything going on a consistent basis. Nearly everyone in the lineup is slumping,
and as a result they haven’t scored more than four runs in a game in over a week. That just won’t do.
So there’s been many culprits responsible for the offense’s cold streak, but who can pull them out of the doldrums? In an ideal world there would be several hitters getting close to finding their form again, but sometimes you just need one guy to get on a heater to take the pressure off the rest of the team. It doesn’t matter who does it, but someone’s gotta step up and be the one to put the lineup on their back for at least a little bit. Let’s go over some candidates, shall we?
Ben Rice has been the 1B to Aaron Judge’s 1A in the lineup for the majority of the year, but with Judge now out Rice unfortunately entered a pretty big slump regressing back to the mean a bit. His June’s been rough, but he still stacks up as the team’s best hitter this year and thus stands the best chance of carrying the load with some timely homers if he gets back on track. The lack of protection might be a contributing factor to Rice’s slump, but right now there’s no guarantee of any protection coming up and they simply need somebody to get the torch lit.
Aside from Rice, the next best hitter would be Cody Bellinger, and he’s in the right place to find his groove. Bellinger’s got some of the most egregious home/away splits you could ask for going on this season, hitting to a 207 wRC+ in Yankee Stadium while hitting for a 64 wRC+ anywhere else. That latter mark is quite concerning, but seeing as the Yankees are at the start of a homestand as we speak, there’s no harm in keeping the pattern going for another week.
It’s been a major surprise just how well Paul Goldschmidt’s done this year, but the long-time veteran has fit into his role exceptionally since taking on a small one-year deal to return to the Yankees. He’s gotten more playing time than originally expected with Stanton’s injury, and that has only expanded with Judge also out now, but they’ve never needed him more than now with the rest of the offense struggling. He’s been arguably the most successful of the bunch during June, encapsulated by his two-homer day against Tarik Skubal last week, but if he could fully turn on the 2022 Matt Carpenter magic for a bit his Yankees stint could quickly rise to legendary status.
Perhaps though, the answer simply doesn’t lay with the lineup as is. Perhaps the return of Grisham and/or McMahon will be the catalyst that turns things around, and they’re both nearing that point. Grisham could be back during this homestand, with a short rehab stint that could last as long as a single game being all that stands between him and his name being penciled back into the lineup. McMahon is due back shortly after him, and while he hasn’t been as impactful with the bat overall he’s had his moments and could certainly ingratiate himself by slapping a clutch home run to bail out the rest of the position players.
Whoever the answer is, the Yankees would love it if they got to work immediately as they’ve got another game in front of them. Before we get to their attempt to even up this series though, let’s run through what’s in store here first: Jeff considers what Minnesota could have to offer as our trade partner series kicks off, Peter covers the Roundup, Kento honors Jerry Kenney’s time with the Yankees on his birthday, Michael goes through the past week’s action down on the farm, and Andrés examines Henry Lalane’s resurgence and how it could position him as a trade chip this season.
Today’s Matchup
New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers
Time: 7:10 p.m. EST
TV: Amazon Prime Video, Detroit SportsNet, TBS
Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
